In my opinion 'My Neighbor Totoro' is one of the best movies ever made and well and truly the number 1 Japanese animated movie. The people at Disney are so impressed with Hayao Miyazaki's masterpieces (as all of his movie most definitely are) that they pay him to distribute his films worldwide.
What's so special about these movies? simply the attention to detail, they don't rely on celebrity voices or Elton John's music or a whole lot of propaganda, why? because they don't need to.
When you watch a Miyazaki film you naturally believe all of the characters because of the amazing direction of Miyazaki, the subtle pauses the expressions on their simple faces or the body language, not to mention the amazing backgrounds, then add a wonderful story where generally a young girl is the central character and hero.
Why have you not heard about Miyazaki or his movies? you really should be asking yourself that question if the answer is that you haven't.
The car chase scene in 'the castle of Cagliostro' is listed as the greatest car chase ever in a film, that's pretty amazing when you consider this is a mere cartoon.
The first time I saw 'My Neighbor Totoro' it wasn't in English and there were no subtitles yet I was able to follow the story easily and was totally enthralled by it's brilliance.
If you want to consider yourself a movie buff then certain Japanese films are a must see, Kurosawa's are mandatory, as is Akira, as are Takeshi's films and top of the list are every one of Miyazaki's catalogue.
The catbus in MNT is one piece of cinematic genius.
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